


Kidnapping Isn't All Its Cracked Up To Be (It's Better)

by beersforqueers



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Future Fic, Kidnapping, M/M, Porn, Sexual Content, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-07 10:23:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4259742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beersforqueers/pseuds/beersforqueers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during and after The Search, Zuko invites Sokka to stay at the Royal Palace. Sexual tension and kidnapping by Ozai supporters ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Campfire Tales

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic, so be gentle with me :-) But let me know if there's anything seriously wrong! More notes at the end.

Zuko wasn’t sure that dragging all of his friends into this quest to find his mother was a good idea. Still, he couldn’t deny that the company was a welcome change. Although right now, having Sokka as company wasn’t doing him a whole lot of good. The problem was that he didn’t really know what to say to him. Something about the tribesman’s easy nonchalance put Zuko on edge. 

Currently that was manifesting itself as Zuko sitting awkwardly by the fire while Sokka sharpened Mr. Boomerang. This was clearly going well.  
“Katara and Aang are gross,” he ventured.

“Tell me about it,” Sokka flipped the boomerang over and slid the whetstone down the other side. “Too many oogies for me. The only reason I’m alive is that I’ve essentially become nocturnal. If you’re asleep,” he tapped his head wisely, ”you can’t hear them cooing. Although that might explain some of the weird dreams I’ve been having lately.” He shuddered. 

They lapsed back into silence. Well shit.

***

Sokka wasn’t really sure when things had gotten tense with Zuko. They’d been fine since their little adventure to Boiling Rock, but in the last few months… 

"So..." Sokka said, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his neck, "How is Mai?" He looked around at Zuko, whose brow was furrowed as he gazed intently at the flames. 

Just when it seemed like he might not answer, he said roughly, "She and I--I mean to say we--She broke up with me. So I wouldn't know."  
"Oh," a beat of silence as Sokka tried to think of something appropriately comforting to say (all that he'd come up with internally was a half-hearted "That sucks, man" that would have earned him a snowball to the arm if Katara had been awake to hear it), when Zuko spoke again. 

"How are you and Suki?" 

"We're actually taking a break, too," Sokka said ruefully, hands drifting higher to pull at the tie of his wolfs-tail. "She's been really busy guarding you and all, and I've been tagging along while Katara and Aang do their peace-making stuff. I'm not exactly useful to anyone at the moment. I'd just get in the way." He finally succeeded in pulling the tie free. He held it between his teeth, carding his fingers through loose hair.

He wouldn't have glanced up at all if Zuko hadn't made an odd, strangled noise. As it was, he was confused by the expression on the firebender's face. He was staring at Sokka, lips slightly parted, eyes dancing somewhere between hungry and hunted. 

"Are you...ok?" Sokka asked with some concern. 

"Yes!" Zuko said, blushing furiously. He ducked his head, concentrating suddenly on the rocks lining their campfire, "Your, um, hair looks nice." It may have been a trick of the firelight, but he appeared to blush even more deeply, "I was just thinking that you don't get in the way. I don't think you do!"

"Uh huh," Sokka was perplexed by this conversation. It would appear that Zuko's social skills, which had always been shaky at best, had just taken a rapid and unexpected nosedive into the truly bizarre. 

"And, uh, if you really feel that way, I mean," he babbled on, "You know how confused everything got before, with the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation colony, and you know, I could have used a friend then, so..." He trailed off, looking hopefully at Sokka as though he thought his intentions had been made perfectly clear. 

Sokka was less than enlightened. "Zuko, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Maybe you could come to the Fire Nation royal palace to stay when this is done," Zuko said, very quickly. "In an advisory capacity?" he amended.  
Sokka began gathering his hair back into its wolfs-tail, trying to use the time to pull his own thoughts together. Was it a trick of the light, or did a flash of disappointment cross Zuko's face at the gesture? 

"Sure, buddy," he said at last. "That sounds great. Me and Mr. Boomerang wouldn't mind taking a little vacation to the Royal Palace. It smells nicer than Appa, right?" When Zuko nodded mutely, Sokka took pity on him, "And you're there, so we can--" he didn't know what the hell he and Zuko would do together "--spar and do other manly bonding things. You have a personal spa, don't you?" He tried to keep the eagerness out of his voice on the last sentence, and thought he had been marginally successful judging by the dourness returning to Zuko's expression.  
Well, even if Zuko was regretting the invitation, there were no take-backsies among friends. Sokka was already anticipating a nice long stay complete with massage, shopping, and, if Zuko could keep it quiet, perhaps a manly pedicure or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments MAKE MY DAY so don' hesitate to leave one ;-) Thanks!


	2. The Trouble with Friends to Lovers

Zuko could hear distant shouting from the corridor. Dipping his pen once more into the ink on his desk, he signed the last of his papers with a flourish, and stood up from his desk to investigate. He stretched, joints aching from sitting for so long, and swept to the door of his chambers. This wasn't the first night he'd taken his dinner in his chambers to continue with work (and it wouldn't be the last) but all the same, he was feeling restless. 

Poking his head into the hallway, he wasn't the least bit surprised to see Sokka weaving back and forth as he dodged his guards' attempts to collar him. "The Fire Lord is busy," one of them grunted irritably, "Can't it wait until morning?" 

"Nooooo!" Sokka declared, eyes sliding slightly in and out of focus as he bobbed away from the guard trying to grab him. "I need to see his Lordy-ship Zuko NOW!" He stomped his foot to emphasize the point. 

Trying to conceal his grin, Zuko glided into the hallway, waving away his guards' bows and explanations. He noted that Sokka was carrying his purse, which was bulging strangely and clinked whenever the tribesman moved. 

"I'm sure that if my advisor needs to see me at this late hour--"

"It's only 7 o'clock, Zuuukoooo..." Sokka whined, darting around the largest guard to fling himself into Zuko's arms. The guard cracked his knuckles ominously. 

"Then it must be very important!" Zuko finished quickly, and turned to haul the other man through the doorway. He only dropped him once the bolt was securely in place, but he was grateful to do so; Sokka had only bulked up more in the last few months he'd been living in the palace, and he hadn't been small to begin with. 

By the time Zuko turned to confront Sokka about his behavior, he was already making himself comfortable at the low table in front of the fireplace. He was lining up small glasses next to an enormous bottle of liquor. 

"Teo made it!" Sokka crooned happily, then continued in a stage whisper, "it's really strong!" 

Zuko walked over to the table and lowered himself cautiously down to sit opposite Sokka. The bottle was unlabeled--always a bad sign--and full of clear liquid that Sokka was cheerfully doling out into the glasses. He pushed half of them towards Zuko, who lifted one gingerly to his nose. It smelled like rubbing alcohol. 

"To friends!" Sokka clinked his glass against Zuko's, then waited until he had downed the glass to drink his own. It slid down his throat like fire, burning a pathway through his chest to warm his stomach. 

"To friends," Zuko echoed, smiling slightly. He couldn't deny the flash of fondness that had shot through him when he'd seen his "advisor" bouncing around in the hallway, obviously intoxicated. Something about Sokka's presence lately seemed to unleash something inside of Zuko; something bright and shining. When he had tried to ask Uncle to help him put a name to the feeling, Iroh had arched a single silver eyebrow and asked point blank, "Is it possible, nephew, that you are experiencing that iridescent emotion we refer to as 'fun'?" Zuko had rolled his eyes, but Uncle had a point. He'd never had much fun as a boy or a teenager, but Sokka radiated it. For the first time in his life, Zuko was splashing with someone in the royal baths, roughhousing in the training room, roasting sea-mallows with his bending, and yes, getting drunk at 7 o'clock on a Tuesday night. 

"You know what I don't understand?" Sokka asked. 

Zuko picked up another glass, waiting for Sokka to continue. He never needed any extra prompting. 

"How do you just go from friends to luh-vers?" he got up onto his knees, leaning forward to splash the rest of the glasses full. "My sister and Aang! Traveling around for..." He struggled to quantify the amount of time, "a long time, and the suddenly BAM!" He swiveled his hips suggestively, "They're a thing. You know. A sex thing."

Zuko, who had been swallowing his third glass to cover the blush accompanying Sokka's hip gyrations, choked. Sputtering, he wiped the liquid from his chin before speaking. 

"Surely you don't know that. It's not like they tell you," he said, appalled. 

"They spend an aaawfuul long time flying around on Appa," Sokka said sagely. "Isss gotta get boron' up there without some distractions. Poor Appa,” he added on second thought.

"I suppose," Zuko sipped his next glass. He was starting to feel pleasantly light headed. 

"I get bored sometimes in the palace," Sokka confided. Zuko felt his heart sink, only to mysteriously skyrocket as Sokka went on, "but you alwaaaayss make it better. I didn think we'd be friends, Zuko, but you're just wonderful, so..." He trailed off, downing another drink. He sidled around the edge of the table with the bottle, obviously meaning to refill Zuko's glasses. Instead, he tipped sideways, his head sliding into Zuko's lap. He snuggled there, sighing happily, and looped his arms around Zuko's waist. His face pressed firmly into Zuko's thigh.

Zuko froze. He was fairly certain that if he was a little less drunk, he would have been very very interested in this current situation. As it was, his cock gave a feeble stir at the closeness of another's touch, and he had to mentally beat it into submission. Sokka wasn't here to take the next step in their friendship. He was here to spend time. With Zuko. As friends. 

"You know what I like about you?" Sokka asked sleepily. Zuko shook his head, and it seemed Sokka once again didn't need a verbal response. "You're brave. And so funny without trying. And soooo pretty.... But not mean about it." He lurched up out of Zuko's lap and latched his arms around Zuko's neck, looping his fingers through his hair, drawing it out of its topknot. "So silky... Like silk." He whispered against Zuko's neck, his lips brushing against his pulse, sending a jolt through his body that spread the warmth on his cheeks further down his neck. 

"Maybe we should put you to bed," Zuko suggested gently, starting to pry Sokka's hands away, but he held fast. 

"Mmmm..." Sokka breathed, as thoroughly attached as a penta-pus, "I'd like to go to your bed."

"Very well then," Zuko bent slightly in half, sliding one arm around Sokka's shoulders, the other under his knees, hefting him against his chest as he stood. He swayed a little upon standing, but made it to the bed safely. He deposited Sokka delicately on the covers, hesitated, the climbed over the bed to lie down on the opposite side. 

"Sleep well," he whispered. There was no answer, but he wasn't surprised to feel Sokka's hand slide out of the darkness and grab his. It held tight, and he returned the pressure, feeling himself drop off to sleep. 

***

Sokka came to in the dark. The air was thick, but (his foggy brain struggled to understand why this might be) it was heavily scented with a seductive perfume. He sniffed appreciatively... It was musky and spicy. There was really no other word for it than *hot*. 

"Sokka?" 

He would have jumped out of his skin if he'd been able. As it was, he jerked violently enough to bang his head and shoulder on the ceiling of--of what exactly? He began to search around himself, hands sliding onto rough boards, feeling out corners and seams, until they ghosted over the unmistakable form of another person. 

"Zuko?" he asked hesitantly. He couldn't understand what the hell he was doing trapped in what felt like a giant shipping crate, and why Zuko would be there too. It also occurred to him suddenly that they were moving; there was a certain rolling, jouncing quality to the motion, as though they were riding on the back of a very large ostrichhorse. "Zuko..." He tried to keep the rising panic in his chest from creeping into his voice. "What happened?"

"We've been kidnapped," Zuko said dryly.


	3. In Which Kidnapping Really Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be

"No. No way," Sokka moaned. He slammed a fist into the side of the crate, receiving a sore fist and an irritated noise from Zuko. 

"Yes," Zuko said calmly.

"Well who did it?! When?!" Sokka demanded. 

"Last night, while we were passed out in my quarters. They disabled my guards and drugged us," Zuko said, still in that light, even tone.   
Sokka was starting to feel that pressure in the back of his head that meant he was about to develop a whopper of a hangover headache. The cramped conditions and overwhelmingly seductive scent of Fire Lord weren't helping. 

"Why aren't you burning a giant hole in this crate, Fire Lord?! Get us out of here!" 

"I've been chi-blocked."

Sokka deflated. "So we're fucked."

"Yes." Zuko's lack of appropriate self-preservation reaction was really starting to get on Sokka's nerves. 

"Great. Who broke Zuko?" Sokka thumped his head painfully against the side of the crate in frustration. The way that his cock was trying to spring to attention at the proximity of the other man was not doing anything to improve his mood. Apparently his dick had no considerations for their current danger. 

"Maybe you'd like to boomerang us out of here," Zuko said acerbically. "Oh wait, they took your weapon, too. What the hell do you expect me to do? We just have to wait."

"MR. BOOMERANG IS GONE?!" Sokka scrabbled desperately at his weapon's belt. "I KNEW IT. THIS IS THE END."

A hand made solid contact with Sokka's face, swinging out from somewhere to his right. "Pull yourself together, Sokka," Zuko hissed. "We've stopped moving." 

They waited in silence, trying to hear what was going on outside of their tiny prison. 

There was a great deal of bumping, a loud scraping sound, and then they were dumped unceremoniously onto the ground. 

"I'll get the scrawny one," came a deep voice from above them. The top of the crate was suddenly pried open, and a pair of rough hands manhandled Sokka out of the crate. He was pulled upright, and had to spit out a mouthful of Zuko's hair, which had come down from its topknot. It tasted decidedly un-sexy. 

"Who the fuck are you calling scrawny?!" he spun around indignantly, only to thump against a broad expanse of chest. He looked up... And up and up. The man had Zuko in his hands now and was hauling him up from the crate with ease. He dropped him in a very ruffled pile, where several similarly large men descended on him to bind his hands. Another pair of men began to truss Sokka, who was still goggling at the sheer vastness of their first kidnapper. 

"Hey, hey!" he came back to himself as they reached his ankles, forcing him to take a few rather undignified hops to evade them. "Are you going to carry me? If not, leave the goods alone."

"Oh, right," the hairiest of them scratched his head in confusion. His face darkened, and he poked Sokka hard in the shoulder with a sausage-like finger, "Get moving, then." 

Sokka had to commend Zuko on the icy disdain with which he was regarding their kidnappers as they shoved them along ahead of them. The cold rage in the Fire Lord’s eyes would have had Sokka wetting himself for sure. 

Still... "They don't seem that smart," he whispered to Zuko. 

"Of course not," he sniffed, "they're hired thugs." He glanced around them. They were in a small valley between steep mountain faces that marched away into the distance. The unmistakable signs of a long-term camp surrounded them; large canvas tents littered the landscape, some of which were hung with flags. 

"Hey, aren't those--" Sokka began, eyes wide. 

"Yes," Zuko said, his words harsh and clipped. "Ozai's insignia. This is the Pro-Ozai camp. We've known about them for months, but I didn't think they were strong enough to pull off a stunt like this." He jerked his head to indicate himself and Sokka. "I planned to wipe them out within the next few weeks. Maybe that's why they chose now to act. But how could they have known?" He trailed off, chewing on his lip thoughtfully. 

Sokka didn't give a flying fuck how they had known Zuko was about to annihilate them. He had seized on a much more important fact, "So your guards know where we are?! They can find this camp?" 

"Yes," Zuko said distractedly. "Once they determine who has taken us, my army will move in force to rescue us."

"That's fantastic!" Sokka crowed (as quietly as possible). 

"It's what will happen in the meantime that I'm worried about," Zuko said darkly. 

"Oh yeah," Sokka's face fell, but then he rallied. "But we just have to hold out until then," he puffed out his chest impressively, "I can stand up to torture."

Zuko gave him a patronizing look. Then he looked up, frowning. Sokka followed his sight line to a row of--

"Coolers," Zuko said, his face stormy. 

"No!" Sokka remembered only too well their time on Boiling Rock and the way that firebenders had been forced to endure subzero temperatures to rob them of their bending. 

"Don't worry twink, we won't throw your boyfriend into the freezer. Yet," guffawed the man-mountain. "We chi-blocked him already."

"What did you call me? I'm not his boyfriend!" Sokka protested, straining against his bonds to send dagger-like glares at the men surrounding him. 

Zuko shot him a similar look, clearly warning him to keep his mouth shut. 

"Naw, you're in here."

Sokka barely had a second to look around and see an iron-strapped wood door set into the side of the mountain before it was thrown open and he was chucked through by the scruff of his neck. Zuko landed on top of him and scrambled upright, slamming himself against the door. It rattled ominously, but didn't budge. 

"Damn it," he swore. 

"So I guess I have some apologizing to do..." Sokka said awkwardly. He sat up and started rubbing the back of his head against the stone wall of the cell, trying not to look too deranged as he did so. 

Zuko flopped down onto the ground, flexing his wrists in front of him. "For what?" he mumbled. "You didn't knock me out, take my bending, and stuff me into a wooden box." 

"Yeah," Sokka continued sliding his head against the stone, surveying the inside of the cell. It was tiny, with barely enough room for two men to lie down fully on the damp floor. "But I'm the one who got you drunk." 

"I got myself drunk," Zuko snorted. "I imagine the alcohol just made the drugging easier. And what are you doing? If you have an itch--"

"No, that's not it," Sokka gave up and scooted himself closer to Zuko. "Can you pull the pin out of my wolfs-tail?" 

"Is now really the time for hair styling?" Zuko asked sardonically. 

"Just do it," Sokka grumbled. He dropped down next to Zuko, becoming uncomfortably aware as he did so that his face was now on dick-level with Zuko. 

"Fine," there was a moment of fumbling and then Zuko had the pin free. He held it up to Sokka, who took it carefully in his hands and pressed on the end. A slim blade popped free of the whale bone body. 

"A pocket knife?" Zuko looked impressed. 

"And here you were thinking I just liked to accessorize," Sokka stuck his tongue out at Zuko and was surprised to see a smile spread across the Fire Lord's face. 

"You do like to accessorize," he pointed out. 

"Ugh, hold still," Sokka let out his best long-suffering sigh as he began to work the blade into the ropes holding Zuko's wrists. "It was my dad's," he said. He wasn't really sure why he felt the need to extrapolate, except that he and Zuko were going to be stuck together in this dark cell for the foreseeable future. "He gave it to me before he left for the war. Steel blades aren't exactly easy to come by in the South Pole, so it was considered very valuable." He shrugged," I know now that it isn't really that special, but you know..." he smiled sheepishly. 

But Zuko was nodding, "I had so few things of my mother's after she left. I treasured each one I had like they were priceless." 

Sokka didn't know what to say to that, and so concentrated on cutting through Zuko's ropes. It took a relatively short amount of time, and then Zuko was shaking the ropes free and rubbing at his chafed wrists. He took the bone handle carefully from Sokka's hands and made quick work of his bindings. When he was done, Sokka collapsed the blade and stowed it away carefully. 

Then he voiced something he'd been thinking about since the abduction. It had floated to the fore of his mind after the mercenary’s jibes. 

“I don't get why they took me too," Sokka murmured. 

"That really was my fault," Zuko said, head hanging dejectedly. "I'm sorry."

Sokka blinked stupidly at him, "Why would it be your fault?" 

"They assumed that you must be important to me... I mean, you were passed out in my quarters. In my bed. I imagine it looked rather compromising." He shook his head. "You're in danger because of our friendship."

"Oh." Sokka sat still for a moment. "So that's why they thought you and I--"

"Yes," Zuko said curtly. 

"But of course that's ridiculous!" Sokka said, trying to fill his words with a manly bravado he didn't feel. "Right…?"

Zuko's head shot up, eyes suddenly piercing. His face was blazing, full of something that took Sokka's breath away. Hope? 

But just as his lips parted to speak, there was a wrenching, grinding noise, and the door to their cell was forced open. 

"The scarred one. Leave the Water Tribe peasant," came another voice, this one faster, more excited than that of any of the mercenaries. 

The man-mountain squeezed himself into the tiny cell and grabbed hold of Zuko, not seeming to notice when Sokka jumped up and tried to attack him. He hustled Zuko out of the cell, slinging him over his shoulder even as Zuko put up a fight. Then the cell door slammed shut, leaving Sokka alone.


	4. Cell Cock Block Tango

The trouble with the cell, aside from the fact that it was a cell, was that it was too small for anything past a water skin, a bucket, a pile of scratchy wool blankets, and the two bodies supposed to be occupying it. The walls had been carved out of the mountain itself, and Sokka had already wasted a few moments wondering how it had been done without the help of earth benders. It was also dark, as the only window was a tiny one set high up on the door and made less effective by the matrix of iron bars set into it. 

Sokka's brain was buzzing, full of theories and fears about what they might be doing to Zuko while he was trapped impotently in this stupid prison. He cursed again that he wasn't a bender, although he supposed that wouldn't do him a whole lot of good against chi-blockers. Still, as the plan guy, he felt he should have come up with something substantive by now. 

Instead, all he could think about was the last few weeks with Zuko. Something had shifted perceptibly, starting with that night when he had invited Sokka to stay with him. Somewhere between shopping incognito, visiting the royal baths, and getting wasted in Zuko's bedroom, some line had been crossed. The trouble was that the revelation didn't do Sokka a whole lot of good, considering that they were abducted and sitting in the middle of a rebel camp. Well, he was sitting, he amended, Gods only know what they're doing to Zuko. It was a sobering thought. He pushed the rest away. His feelings were probably one-sided anyway. 

The only means he had to judge the passage of time was the changing nature of the light outside. They had been taken sometime around midnight he assumed, which meant that it was probably mid afternoon when they had made it here, and by now... It seemed to be early evening. The summer light was holding on for dear life, but it had definitely been hours. Sokka sank down to the floor, head in hands, only to spring back up to his feet with a curse as the door made its horrible grinding noise again.

"Zuko!" he gasped. The man-mountain was depositing what appeared to be a bloodied pile of blankets onto the floor. It was only distinguishable as human by the way it was groaning.   
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Sokka had never felt anything like this all-consuming rage that coursed through him now. He hurled himself at the huge man, but was batted back like he weighed nothing. He rebounded off the back wall of the cell, and rolled gracefully to his feet, intending to redouble his attack, but the door was already closing. A muffled moan from the floor redirected him, however, and he dropped to his hands and knees. 

With gentle hands he rolled Zuko over. On second look, it wasn't as bad as he'd though, but Zuko's face was crusted with dried blood, and fresher blood was still oozing from a laceration across his scalp. Sokka carefully eased Zuko's shirt up and off, murmuring comforting platitudes when the motion scraped against Zuko's bleeding head. He tossed it into the corner, more concerned for the swelling on Zuko's face. Then he looked down, and his breath caught in his throat. 

Rapidly darkening bruises blossomed across Zuko's chest, great splotches of violet and deep blue spreading from his side along his ribs and up towards his throat. 

"Gods, what did they do?" he choked, his own words almost a sob. "What could they possibly have wanted?" Zuko's puffy eye finally slit open a fraction, and the intensity in it almost made Sokka draw back. They were burning with a fury that matched his own, and their liquid gold threatened to scorch him as well. But then they softened, the lid descended, and Zuko turned his head slightly in a motion that was unmistakable to Sokka's eye, now so well-trained in Zuko's mannerisms. He was ashamed; he didn't want Sokka to see him this way. Sokka’s heart seemed to clench. 

"They know Azula is free," Zuko grated, face turned away. "They want to know where she is--" he drew in a rattling breath, "they want to use her to destabilize everything we've worked to rebuild. They think that she is the rightful Fire Lord."

"But you can't tell them," Sokka bent further over Zuko, ignoring his hesitancy to run careful hands over his chest and back. He had seen plenty of broken ribs before--from hunting mishaps, boating accidents, slips out on the ice--and he knew how dangerous that rattling sound was. With fear for Zuko's lungs in the forefront of his mind, he was struggling to respond properly to the news of their kidnappers' plans. His own anger and pain was attempting to overwhelm him. "She's gone." He completed his cursory examination and leaned in to take Zuko's face in his hands. He thumbed at Zuko's eyelids. He wasn't concussed, though his hair was matted with blood. 

"Stop that," Zuko swatted half-heartedly at Sokka's hand. "I'm fine." But the nasty swelling over his right eye promised a black eye at the very least, and his busted lip seemed to be making speech uncomfortable. 

"Like hell," Sokka muttered. "Can you even move this finger?" He pulled gently on the index finger of Zuko's left hand. Zuko hissed warningly, yanking the hand back to cradle it against his chest. 

"I thought so," Sokka paused for a moment before reaching down to pull his tunic over his head. Ignoring Zuko's protestations, Sokka began cutting thin strips from the bottom. Some of their drinking water went into cleaning the blood from Zuko's face, and one of the long whalebone fastenings from Sokka's coat became a splint for the broken finger. 

***

Zuko watched him work from beneath heavy lids, only occasionally shifting to allow better access or letting out a low exhale when Sokka's fingers found an especially sore patch of skin. His eyes trailed over the other, just purposeful enough to notice the worried crease between Sokka's eyes, the tense shift of shoulder muscles gliding under soft brown skin, the strands of dark hair falling free from his wolfs-tail. For a moment he felt a bizarre urge to push them back into place, and then the even stronger desire to run his hands through Sokka's hair, to feel if it was as silky and smooth as it looked. 

He restrained himself with some difficulty, moving his gaze to stare instead at the far wall. After all, the intimacy of Sokka's hands in this moment only had to do with patching up his injuries. Zuko tried to ignore the sensations by wondering idly whether healing was somehow natural for all Watertribesmen, not just their benders. The train of though didn't last long once Sokka's hands retreated from his body. He looked up quickly, and was startled by how close Sokka still was. And did the expression on his face indicate satisfaction with his work, or... Something else? So many things were harder to understand in the dark. 

***

Sokka had been so intent on the splinting Zuko's broken finger that he hadn't spared many glances for Zuko himself. The Fire Lord was staring at him though, a fact that he came to be aware of gradually. Unsure whether or not to address it, he continued what he was doing, only looking up when he was sure Zuko wouldn't notice. Zuko was now contemplating something on the far wall, but his eyes were unfocused and far away. He gave a little start when Sokka's hands ceased contact with him. He looked down the length of his body, seeming surprised by his own injuries. He traced an elegant finger down one of his ribs, wincing slightly. 

"Thanks," Zuko said quietly, looking up at Sokka fully. He licked his split lip gingerly, tongue dragging in the center where it was swollen. Sokka watched its progress dazedly, focusing on the way Zuko's lower lip glistened wetly in the half light. His mouth went dry. “I hope I didn't scare you earlier. I am fine." He hoisted himself up on his elbows, and Sokka took the opportunity to shove one of the blankets under his shoulders. Zuko bit his torn lip as he lowered himself grudgingly back down. 

"You didn't scare me," Sokka said. "But it did seem like you might zap me," he wiggled his fingers to indicate a painful and fiery death.   
"I couldn't even if I wanted to," Zuko admitted. "That's part of the problem. I'm all..." He shook his head like a dog bothered by a particularly troublesome fly. "Sokka, I'm crawling out of my skin," his voice was relatively calm, but his eyes were wild, burning. "I can't bend, but the fire isn't just gone. It's trapped. Inside of me," his hands scrabbled at his chest, like he was trying to rip away the shirt that was already gone.   
Sokka didn't exactly follow, but something about the light in Zuko's eyes was making his entire brain melt like whale blubber. 

"So... You need a release," Sokka ventured, trying to ignore how his cock was twitching. 

Zuko's eyes darkened and he nodded, a jerky, tense movement. His lips parted, still rosy and slick from where he'd been biting them. It took all of Sokka's willpower not to lean down and bite that lip himself. But then he remembered how it had been split and he looked away. 

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know how that must feel. I don't think a non-bender could ever understand."

Zuko's eyes flashed, and a surprisingly strong hand reached out and latched onto Sokka's wrist. "You do understand. You understand more about me than any other person I've ever met." Sokka looked down at the point of contact dazedly. It felt like a ring of fire had encircled his wrist, even though he knew Zuko wasn't bending. Zuko's thumb was stroking distractedly along his pulse, and he wanted so badly to return the touch, to keep holding Zuko's eyes forever, to fall into those twin pools of molten gold…

Instead, he practically dove for his own blankets with an overly cheerful, "Well, good night!" Gods, he sounded like Aang. But that was better than getting all keyed up over his friend, who has just been beaten to a pulp. Who was in a bad way, and was vulnerable. Who Sokka couldn't bear to take advantage of. That sure would be a classy way to cash in on his gratitude. *Hey Zuko, I helped you out, wanna return the favor? Except, oh wait, my favor involves my raging hard on. Wanna put that broken hand to good use?*

"Good night Sokka," came the reply from out of the darkness.


	5. Obligatory Unintentional Snuggling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't resist the snuggling! It's such a weakness.

When Zuko woke the next morning, he was very warm. This, in and of itself, was not a strange occurrence, but the long tanned arm curled around his waist certainly was. Zuko's brain went into overdrive, even as the rest of his body relaxed instinctively into the warm body behind him. It felt as though the entire length of Sokka's body was pressed against his, even, and Zuko blushed deeply at the realization, the really *important* parts. And apparently Zuko wasn't the only one to rise with the sun. 

"Shit," Zuko breathed, unsure how to respond. The most shameful part of this entire situation wasn't the dick wedged very obviously against his ass, but that he was completely unopposed to its presence. In fact, as he had explained to Sokka only yesterday, the combination of post-adolescent hormones, adrenaline from their capture, and pent-up firebending energy ensured that the situation was rapidly becoming mutual. Especially when Zuko remembered how close he'd come to reaching some kind of...something with Sokka. Except that Sokka had been the one to pull away. 

Just as Zuko thought he might die from the tension, Sokka rolled away from him, snuffling softly in his sleep. Trying to shake off how oddly bereft he felt at his departure, Zuko sat up. There was no way he was going to jack off in this tiny cell with Sokka lying *right there*. Too creepy. 

That left waiting it out, and trying very hard not to think about how Sokka had felt, both last night when his hands had been all over Zuko's torso, and this morning with his erection straining against Zuko's ass. He sighed and settled in to meditate. 

What felt like several hours later, he was brought out of his reverie by the sounds of Sokka awakening behind him. Thankfully, despite his very questionable meditation, his erection had long since flagged, leaving him both relieved and even more frustrated. 

"Mornin'," Sokka yawned. 

Zuko grunted back, turning to lean against the wall of their cell. 

"You look better this morning," Sokka said, stretching. "Oh fuck," he added suddenly, and Zuko was mollified to see that his face wasn't the only one achieving impressive shades of red this morning. "Sorry about this!" Sokka squeaked, bunching the remains of his tunic up in his lap. "I, uh…."

"Don't worry, I already dealt with mine, I mean--" Zuko looked stricken. 

"You what?" Sokka breathed, eyes very round. 

"No, I didn't!" Zuko protested. "I meditated! But I, you know, woke up like that," he finished lamely. 

"Gotcha." 

They were silent for a few moments, avoiding each other's eye. 

"Did you sleep we--"

"You feeling ok this mor--"

They both broke off again, red-faced. Finally Zuko nodded at Sokka to speak first. 

Sokka had an odd expression on his face, "You were thrashing around last night. Are you ok?"

"Oh," Zuko ducked his head, trying to hide the shame on his face. He retrieved his shirt and tugged it back over his head, tousled hair getting even more unruly. He smoothed it down impatiently, and groaned at the way his bruised skin pulled when he lifted his arm. Sokka was immediately at his side, casting furtive glances up at his face as he slid the side of Zuko's shirt back up to check on the bruises. Zuko held very still, willing his checks to return to their normal color. 

"I--um," he cleared his throat nervously, "I don't like the dark. I never have."

"It's a firebender thing, right?" Sokka asked, his voice blessedly free from judgment. "I remember you always woke up earlier than anyone at the Western Air Temple. Crazy bastard," he added teasingly. 

"Yeah," Zuko muttered. "We draw energy from--"

"--the sun," Sokka finished. He smiled, letting Zuko's shirt fall back into place, "I know, I know. You and my sister and your crazy," he pin-wheeled his arms theatrically, "bender energy. Why can't you get energy from *sleep * like normal people?" 

Zuko actually laughed. It was low and rueful, but still more than Sokka usually heard from the other. "It certainly doesn't help with my current problem." Indeed, the moment his meditation had broken and he had come back to the reality of his nearness to Sokka, the tension had flowed back into his body, nearly crushing him with its weight. 

"No," Sokka cleared his throat, "I guess it doesn't. About last night--"

"I should apologize," Zuko said hurriedly. "I hope you didn't feel pressured in any way. You shouldn't have to do anything you don't want to--"

"It's not that I wouldn't want to," Sokka admitted, barely audibly. 

"What?" Zuko breathed. He couldn't believe that Sokka had said what he thought he had. 

"I didn't want to take advantage of you. You're, um, vulnerable," he waved a hand vaguely up and down Zuko's prone body. 

Zuko felt his own face darken, but not from humiliation this time. "Vulnerable?" He heard his voice as if from a stranger. Surely he wasn’t the one sounding so... Predatory. 

***

Sokka wasn't really sure what to do in this situation. Apparently his choice of words had gravely offended the firebender, because he currently looked as though he wanted to eat Sokka alive. It was both terrifying and extremely sexy. 

Without breaking eye contact, Zuko shifted forward, leaning towards the man opposite him so that they were face to face, albeit separated by a few feet. His arms, roped with taut, defined muscle, suspended his body above Sokka's, and he practically prowled closer, eyes intent on Sokka's face. 

"What exactly about me seems vulnerable to you, Sokka?" he murmured. His eyes were glowing with a preternatural heat, and as he crawled up Sokka's body, he could feel that same heat radiating from his body as well. "Because I think that right now, I'm the least vulnerable I've ever been," and he exhaled, flames licking up out of his mouth, curling gracefully toward the ceiling. 

Sokka gulped. He was simultaneously incredibly aroused and very concerned for his personal safety. His dick lay hard and aching, horribly constrained by his pants, and although he had a definite feeling that Zuko must be the same, he couldn't fathom the idea of taking his eyes off of the bender who seemed determined to have him at his mercy. 

"So you have your bending back, then?" He chuckled weakly. The sound was ominously echoed by Zuko, whose face was mere inches away. Sokka closed his eyes against the burning, blinding desire there, his lips parting in supplication, silently pleading, and he felt the heat just before Zuko's lips brushed his--

A huge explosion had both men scrambling as far as possible away from the door of the cell. With a resounding, deafening crash the entire front of the cell was ripped from the side of the mountain, trailing pieces of wooden door and sending chunks of rock flying like shrapnel.  
"Fire Princess, Snoozles," Toph nodded to each of them in turn, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Hope you still wanna be rescued, cause this one woman wrecking crew is here to save your motherfucking day."


	6. Rescue Party of a Lifetime

Sokka recovered first. "TOPH!" he roared in welcome, stumbling forward for a hug. "Our savior! What happened?"

In answer, Toph turned and gestured behind herself at a scene of chaos. Half of the camp was on fire, the other half trampled where Appa had landed. The sky bison himself was bellowing in anger at a pack of mercenaries, who were cowering on the ground. Aang was nowhere to be seen, but Katara was deluging their remaining kidnappers, who sputtered and slipped in the mud as they tried to run. 

Suddenly there was the sound of propellers, and Aang alighted next to them, folding his glider as he did so. He smiled broadly at Sokka, and hurled himself at Zuko for a hug. "We brought the army!" he said proudly, arm sweeping wide to encompass a long line of men marching in ranks towards them 

"Wow," Sokka whispered, awestruck. 

"Good. Let's go," Zuko brushed past Sokka, not looking at him. 

"Zuko!" Katara appeared at his elbow, flashing a perfunctory smile at her brother as she reached out to the firebender. "You need healing! Aang, get him up on Appa. The general can deal with the rest of this mess." 

"So Captain Boomerang," Toph strode up alongside Sokka, nudging him hard in the ribs with her elbow. "Were you gettin' busy in there, or what?" 

Sokka made a strangled noise, but Toph only chuckled, stomping a geyser of earth out of the ground to boost Sokka into Appa's saddle.   
"Don't worry," she said, landing easily in the seat next to him, "your secret is safe with me. But I want all the gory details later." And she stretched out, arms behind her head, and promptly fell asleep. 

***

Meanwhile, Katara was passing her hands over Zuko's face. Aang had climbed over into the drivers seat and was piloting Appa into the air. 

"Who took care of your finger?" she asked quietly. "They did a pretty good job, all things considered."

"Sokka," Zuko said, turning his face away as she moved down to attend to his bruises. 

"Hmmmm..." she mumbled. "Good thing he was there. Did it help? Having him with you? I know that must have been scary."

"Yes. He was a real source of comfort," Zuko said wryly. Katara gave him a stern look, noticing the sarcasm. 

She sniffed, "Well, he might not be the sharpest spear in the shed, but he's good under pressure. Any idea why they took him too? It seems strange they went out of their way to kidnap the Fire Lord's advisor as well."

"He was in my quarters," Zuko said softly. 

Katara raised her eyebrows, face suspicious, but all she said was, "I see."

They were quiet for a time while she healed him, and Zuko closed his eyes, letting the wind run its cool fingers through his hair. He was exhausted, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He had been stupid. Why, when his bending had come back, did he use it to intimidate Sokka? He should have been blasting a hole in their door to free them. His judgment was so impaired when it came to his friend. What were they even doing? Were they still friends?

"I wish you both well," came Katara's voice suddenly. Zuko opened his eyes, frowning slightly. She was eyeing him with a steely expression. "I'm not blind. I see how he keeps staring over here at you. And how you avoided my question about him," she sighed. "I'm working really hard on trusting you, Zuko. Don't break my brother's heart. Or I really will kill you."

"I--I'm not sure... I don't know if he feels the same," Zuko whispered. 

"Of course he does," Katara rolled her eyes. "My brother is a lot of things, but subtle isn't one of them."

Zuko leaned back again, feeling a smile begin to spread across his face. There was a soaring sensation in his chest, the feeling of a huge mass beginning to unfurl itself from where it's leaden weight had been pressing. Katara was still watching him, but this time she was smiling too. 

"I have the feeling you're going to look back on this and be very happy you were kidnapped," she laughed. 

***

"What do you think they're talking about?" Sokka said anxiously, poking Toph with his boomerang. Aang had found it among the kidnappers' belongings and returned it the moment Sokka began panicking in earnest about its loss. 

"Your future engagement to the Fire Princess, probably," Toph yawned, not bothering to open her eyes. "As far as I can see, they're in cahoots." She pried open one lid to stare off in a direction somewhere to Sokka's left. "Get it? Get it?! I see--"

"I get it, Toph," Sokka grumbled. 

"What's got your panties in a twist? You’re into his Lordship, right?" she said. "No worries."

"That's not the problem!" Sokka smacked himself on the forehead, hand sliding down his face morosely. "He doesn't like be baa-aack..." he moaned. He was rapidly becoming convinced that Zuko's little pyrotechnic show in the cell had been to prove a point. *And he sure all hell proved it.*

Toph snorted loudly. "He likes you, dumbass. Wanna know why he didn't come running when he saw me?" Sokka nodded, then blanched and gave a low noise of affirmation. "Let's just say he had some rearranging to do. In his pants. What with his giant boner." Toph laughed, just imagining the violent shade of hot pink her friend must be reaching by now. 

Sokka was indeed grappling with several difficult concepts: one was his utter humiliation that Toph had witnessed the aftermath of his conversation with Zuko, and the other was the problem of Zuko himself. Where did they go from here? Were they destined to be uncomfortable friends who really just wanted to bone each other? Or something else entirely?


	7. Zuko Finally Works Out His Frustration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda rough sex… be forewarned.

It had been a very long day by the time Zuko was ready to reach his own bed. His own personal physician and his uncle had greeted him at the palace, both clucking over him like mother hens. Then he'd met with the head of his guard, several generals, various clerks who needed a written account of his capture and imprisonment... Reliving the event over and over again had been taxing. And the entire time all he had been able to think about was Sokka. Which hadn't sped up the process, since he kept losing the thread of his story or forgetting to respond. This led to another round of examinations by the doctor, who thought he might be concussed. Zuko had been ready to breathe fire--literally--by the end of it. 

And so when he reached out to push open a pair of chamber doors he was surprised to find that the room beyond did not belong to him. 

Blinking around in confusion he spotted several discarded articles of rumpled clothing (blue clothing, some part of his brain pointed out), a vacant messenger hawk perch, and a messy bed made up in dark blue and white linens. A door banging open to his right spooked him, and he whipped around to see Sokka, clad only in a towel, emerging from his private bath. 

*Oh.* He had inadvertently wandered into Sokka's room in his quest for comfort. Dimly some part of his brain told him he should turn and go, but the rest of his mind promptly turned around to beat this sensible section into submission. It felt like the entire contraption had short-circuited the second the naked Watertribesman had appeared. 

Sokka seemed confused too. He still had one hand on his head, paused in the act of combing fingers through his loose hair. Steam curled out of the doorway behind him, and the unmistakable sound of dripping, in combination with the water droplets trickling down his damp biceps, made it apparent he had just bathed. 

They stood like that for several moments, Zuko staring at Sokka's exposed chest, Sokka's eyes frozen on the very embarrassed firebender. Then Zuko blinked and broke the tension, turning away hurriedly to give his friend some privacy. 

"I'm sorry," he said, squeezing his eyes shut in mortification. "I'll go. I accidentally... I have to go." His hand was halfway to the door handle when Sokka spoke. 

"No," he said quietly, firmly. "We need to talk."

Heart sinking, Zuko turned, preparing himself for the worst. 

Instead, Sokka gestured him over to a cabinet in the corner, precariously stacked with glasses and bottles. Zuko went, numbly, and seized upon a brand new bottle of Teo's finest. He could hear some rustling behind him, and tried very hard not to think about what Sokka was doing. 

Mentally steeling himself, he turned, a small glass in each hand. He held one out to Sokka and said, "The Pro-Ozai Movement wasn't wrong, you know."

Sokka was standing at the foot of his bed, now wearing a pair of loose blue trousers, his shirt dangling forgotten from one hand. His damp hair hung in sheets around his face, just brushing the tops of chiseled cheekbones. Zuko concentrated at random on the 'v' of his hipbones disappearing into the drawstring waistband, on the fine smattering of dark hair across his navel. He immediately wished he could have picked literally *any other* part of Sokka’s body to study. His left ear lobe, for instance. That seemed safe. 

"Um..." Sokka looked confused. "I'd say they were pretty fucking stupid to think they could kidnap the Fire Lord, beat the location of his crazy sister out of him, and crown her Fire Lord. Oh, and forget that the Fire Lord is best friends with the Avatar, master water and earth benders, and a badass warrior with a boomerang." Sokka brandished the aforementioned boomerang menacingly. Where had he conjured the thing from?

"That's not what I meant." Zuko rolled his eyes, but didn't meet Sokka's. "They weren't wrong when they assumed you must be important to me. In a--" Zuko sucked in a fortifying breath, "a romantic way."

Sokka looked like he'd been struck dumb. Eyes wide, his mouth opened and closed like a koi fish, fingers going slack in the shirt he held. It fell to the floor with a soft *whump*.

Then he was crossing the room in several long strides, his hands reaching out to grasp Zuko's face, and Zuko was falling, falling….

Stumbling backward, Zuko's back collided with the wall, rattling the bottles, knocking the glasses from his hands, but he didn't care. Sokka's hands were in his hair, on the back of his neck, stroking down his shoulders as the full weight of his body descended on him. His lips were soft at first, contrary to the force with which he'd grabbed him, but Zuko's startled gasp undid him. Zuko felt his lips being teased open, and the wet warmth of Sokka's tongue explored his mouth hungrily. Finally, finally, his left hand found its into Sokka's hair, feeling the heavy silk strands slip through his fingers, and Sokka trembled against him. 

***

Sokka shivered violently as Zuko's nails raked across his scalp. His own hands had left Zuko's body and were clenched in the hangings to either side of the bender's head. He could feel Zuko's other hand wrap around to grab his ass and he arched into the touch, trying not to grind too obviously against Zuko’s stomach. He wasn't sure that he could trust himself right now...if he got his hands back on Zuko, this wouldn't last long. 

And oh gods, he wanted this to last. He *wanted* like he never had before, and Zuko was moaning into his mouth, making these desperate little noises, and it was all so fucking *hot*.

He broke away, breath tearing raggedly from his chest as he rested his face in the crook of Zuko's neck. He smelled just like he remembered: spicy and warm and dizzying. Zuko felt boneless beneath him, held up only by Sokka's weight. It had been too much, too fast, he knew it. He pulled back, mouth opening to apologize. 

"Don't you fucking dare," Zuko hissed, his gold eyes flaring, his hands fisting in Sokka's hair. He reeled the tribesman back in for a bruising, demanding kiss that left them both panting. Sokka stared dazedly down at Zuko's swollen mouth. Had he just bitten it? His index finger came up to brush over the dark half-ring shape imprinted there, and he had to bite back a moan at the flash of pink tongue there as Zuko licked tantalizingly at his fingertip. 

Now that he had a little distance, he could see both how wrecked Zuko looked, as well as how ridiculous. His hair had been pulled out of its topknot, his robes yanked into disarray, and his dick was making a very obvious tent in his pants. Knowing that he had done that to Zuko was seriously satisfying. Ruining the composure of the most unflappable man in the world was something to add to his resume. 

Sokka laughed, low and sultry, and after a single petulant look, Zuko cracked a smile too. 

"You win," he whispered, fingers idly playing with a lock of Sokka's hair. Sokka leaned into the touch. 

"I do?" he asked, delighted. "What exactly did I win?"

"This." Suddenly Sokka was being shoved backward. He landed on his bed in a pile of sheets and flying pillows. He bounced back up only to be pinned down by a suddenly naked firebender now straddling his hips. He groaned, head falling back into the mattress, eyes watching Zuko lazily. His own hands rose to trace Zuko’s chest, but Zuko grabbed his wrists and held them tight. He was elegantly muscled, more slender and wiry than Sokka, but he was stronger than he looked. He held Sokka down with ease while his head dipped to brush lips gently along his collar bone, his pecs, tongue darting out to tease at a nipple before coasting lower. 

Sokka inhaled sharply, completely unprepared for the hot, slick mouth that engulfed him. Zuko wasn't the least bit hesitant as he opened his throat, taking Sokka in deep enough for his nose to brush the curls nestled at the base. Sokka had to concentrate with every fiber of his being not to fuck into Zuko’s mouth. His hand floated downward, knotting unconsciously in Zuko’s tousled hair, not pressuring, just steadying. Zuko pulled back, head bobbing sinfully. His tongue pressed just under the head, one hand stroking while the other dipped lower, palming his balls.  
Then, suddenly, he was gone. Sokka let out an undignified squawk, his shoulders rising from the bed as he tried to see where Zuko had gone. He was back before long, however, holding up a small glass bottle. 

"Wha...?" Sokka's fried brain couldn't form the words correctly, but there was a mischievous glint in Zuko's eye that said he had something in mind. He yanked Sokka off of the bed and to his feet, easily swapping their positions. Zuko splayed out in front of him, holding himself up off the bed on his elbows. His erection lay long and throbbing against his abdomen. 

Zuko's voice was suddenly shy, "I want you to fuck me. Please?"

Sokka hadn’t really thought about this as a possibility before, but the way Zuko was asking… he was laid bare, his expression open and—the dreaded word—vulnerable. Sokka could only nod and swoop back in for another kiss, this one long and lingering. His tongue slid along Zuko's lower lip, licking into his mouth sweetly, and Zuko gave a shuddering sigh. His hands pressed at Sokka's lower back, and Sokka settled between his spread legs, fitting perfectly into the cradle of his body. One hand ventured down, and Sokka couldn't have said when he'd uncorked the bottle, but oil spilled between them, coating his cock and Zuko's fingers. He was so distracted by Zuko's lips that he almost missed that Zuko was working himself open. His mouth went dry, and he pulled back with some difficulty, wanting to watch. Zuko was thrusting gently, two fingers already knuckle-deep, and Sokka couldn't resist kissing the focused look off his face. 

***

Zuko had been sure that he wanted Sokka to fuck him, but nothing had prepared him for the reality. It was a sensation he couldn't get enough of, the blunt head of Sokka's cock sliding into the cleft of his ass, nudging at his opening. There was some pressure, the feeling of stretching, of filling, and then it was worth it--*so worth it *--to feel the tension in Sokka's arms as his hands gripped Zuko's hips, trying to keep himself from thrusting into Zuko too soon. Zuko was panting with desire, Sokka groaning from between gritted teeth. 

Slowly, experimentally, Zuko moved, starting to fuck himself onto Sokka's dick. It felt good once he had acclimated, and he ran a hand up Sokka’s arm, nails dragging lightly. Sokka shook with frustration.

Leaning up, Zuko looked him directly in the eye, “Fuck me hard.”

The noise that escaped Sokka was feral. He started to move, thrusting in opposition to Zuko, hands tightening till they would surely leave marks. Zuko ground back against him, arching his back, heels digging into Sokka’s lower back. His nails bit into Sokka’s arms, leaving white crescents. Sokka growled above him, driving in harder in response. On each stroke his hips dipped, hitting in just the right place to have Zuko writhing and moaning beneath him. 

"Yes...nnngh," Zuko groaned, hands leaving Sokka’s arms. They clenched and unclenched in the sheets, trying to gain enough purchase to slam himself more forcefully onto Sokka’s cock, but he was no longer in control. All he could do was try not to get fucked off the bed. Sokka was determined, his brow furrowing as he leaned in to capture Zuko's lips again. His hand released Zuko's hip to reach around and take hold of Zuko's cock. Zuko bowed off of the bed, breath leaving his lungs all at once. Sokka’s thumb slid over the head, smearing through precum, making Zuko gasp. Not breaking eye contact, Sokka raised his hand to his mouth and licked through the liquid, lathing his tongue over skin. Zuko jerked hard, feeling the heat and tension build in his lower back as Sokka's hand returned to his cock, his strokes long and purposeful. They built in ferocity with his own thrusts, and soon Zuko was the one reaching up, sinking his hands into Sokka’s hair to bring his head closer, to nip and lick and tease at Sokka’s open mouth. 

Eventually, his hand began to falter and hips snapped forward, once, twice more as Zuko felt him spill wetly inside of him. Zuko came only a few seconds later, spurting all over his chest and Sokka’s hand, his entire body jerking up to meet Sokka’s. He groaned into his mouth, finally able to meet him fully, to impart in his kiss everything he wanted Sokka to know. 

***

Sokka slumped forward over Zuko, their lips parting company, thinking vaguely that he should probably roll off so as not to crush him. Zuko seemed content however, humming tunelessly and stroking his back while they both came down from their orgasms. His hair was beautiful, waterfalling gracefully over the pillow beneath him. 

"You look good in blue," Sokka mumbled, earning a rumbling laugh that vibrated through his chest. He felt warm, safe, and sleepy in Zuko's arms. Finally rousing himself enough to pull out and flop over onto his back, he pulled the other with him so that he was nestled in his arms. “That was amazing. I can’t believe it finally happened.” Zuko mumbled agreement, burying his face against Sokka. His breathing was already getting longer and deeper, sleeping settling in.

"Also..." he said at length, staring up at the dark canopy of his bed, "I love you."

"Yeah," Zuko snuffled unexpectedly into his shoulder. "Me too."

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments MAKE MY DAY so don' hesitate to leave one ;-) Thanks!


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